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Teacher's Notes:  In this lesson students explore different readings of a text, in this case a poem. Students view the film, answer some reflection questions and have a task to complete in which they use technology to create their own multi-media reading of a poem. The second part of this task will depend on the available technology and the skill level of students. Print a copy of the instructions for students and if necessary urge them to continue working on this task at home. If you have a class blog or class wiki students could post their creations on these with some comment on purpose and evaluation of their own work.

This lesson could be used in any unit on poetry or in the 'Voices of a generation' unit in our Year 10 programme.

• Identify point of view and its effect on reader response.
• Describe the influence of context on meaning.
• Explain the use of imagery to express feelings.

First

Read the poem In Flanders Fields by John McCrae several times and then answer the following questions:

1. Whose voice does McCrae use to narrate the poem?
2. In what ways does this poem belong to a body of work that protests the destruction caused by war?
3. What images would you use to express the feelings about war conveyed in the poem?

Then

 View the short film In Flanders Fields. You should replay the film two or three times.

Write an answer in your notes: How has Ian used the text, images and sound to convey his feelings about World War I?

Your Task

Choose a poem and create a short slide show with only five images to convey your interpretation of the main ideas of the poem. Each slide must have a line from the poem. Alternatively use Windows Movie maker or Director's Notebook to create a visual interpretation of the poem.

Save your multi-media interpretation in your school folder to be viewed in class on the IWB and/or Print a copy and show your teacher.